[9 Chapters today! This dude is so scuffed this mini-arc LMFAO.]
Chapter 430: She's Still The Scariest (3)
'I'm alive, Fuck. I survived. I did it. I survived.'
Those were my first thoughts as I slowly opened my eyes. There wouldn't be another day where I'd be as thankful for being alive.
I tried to spit out words of victory to myself, but I couldn't even hear my own voice. It was as if my throat had already dried out.
For some reason, it was also difficult to breathe, so I stretched out my hand to open a potion, but I couldn't open it either due to my trembling hands. I felt no energy course through my body.
I was nervous about missing the golden time if I missed the opportunity now.
The potion bottle miraculously opened when I felt the flames of my life gradually disappearing.
With a slurping sound, I drank the fluids in it.
Of course, I couldn't consider I've already recovered completely, but at least I managed to apply first aid. I felt the pleasure of drinking a sports drink after going to the sauna.
"I almost died."
It wasn't a joke. I had almost really died.
In fact, I didn't really remember what happened yesterday.
I had to think back immediately about what happened after the first few hours. I woke up halfway through, but all I remembered was red hair swaying and red eyes looking at me from above.
I couldn't help but force a laugh out because it was too ridiculous. Of course, it was a happy moment.
I could even feel a little excitement in the strangely upside-down situation... but that was both the beginning and the end of what I could remember.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that my body was experiencing its worst condition ever since I came to the continent.
It felt like all of my energy had been sucked out of me.
I didn't weigh myself, but... I could confirm that I had lost more than about 5 kilograms. My body's condition was far from normal.
'What should I do?'
What worried me in this embarrassing situation was Jung Hayan.
Perhaps in the middle of their journey, she realized that Cha Hee-ra and I had deviated from the path and disappeared from sight.
Although I was worried that she would cry and make a fuss, it was also interesting that she didn't come to where I was.
No, maybe it wasn't that she didn't come, but that she couldn't. That was more probable.
For some reason, she lost my coordinates or couldn't enter the place where Cha Hee-ra and I were.
'Is this a dungeon?'
A dungeon that only allowed two people? Or was it a place out of the reach of detection magic?
Either way, it didn't matter what it was. When I thought of what would happen once I've gone back, my head hurt once again.
I was naturally afraid of what was going on at Lindel without me.
It was then that a voice came next to me.
"Did you wake up, honey?"
"Ah... yes."
"Sorry. I was too much, right?"
"No. It was good for me, too."
The problem was that I felt like my life was being threatened.
"I'm glad then."
Cha Hee-ra's face looked to be in a really good mood when I saw her up close.
Her crumbly hair and skin seemed to have gained new life, and the dark circles around her eyes had perfectly disappeared.
Her face, which had changed enough to distinguish between before and after, made me exclaim too. She looked as if she'd lost all her worries and stress in the world. It was as if she had been given nutritional supplements.
The Cha Hee-ra beside me was truly in her best condition.
"Wait. Let's have some breakfast and leave."
"Until morning?"
"It's not something extraordinary. I was just in the mood. Or should we leave after having breakfast and some light exercise, honey?"
She had the look of Bear Grils aiming for innocent animals. I quickly realized that I had to hurry and get out of there before becoming a valuable source of protein.
"No. I told you I'm busy. There are many things to do, though... anyway, you look really good."
My voice felt like it was trembling.
"I told you I was frustrated, right? It felt like a dark cloud was in my head yesterday, but now it feels perfectly clear. It's perfect. Really."
However, she had traded it off with my physical exhaustion and pain.
Still, I thought it was fortunate that I was with Cha Hee-ra in this situation. If I had been with Jung Hayan in a place like that, I wouldn't have been able to relax as I did with Hee-ra.
I would've been worried about whether she would trap me here.
At least, Cha Hee-ra didn't seem to have such strange thoughts.
'But why does she look like that. Don't think about weird things. Please don't lock me up. Fuck. Don't lock me in....'
After thinking, Cha Hee-ra stood up.
She kept looking at the place as if she was disappointed, but she had no choice but to move due to my request to hurry out.
"I contacted Blue."
"When?"
"About 5 in the morning. They didn't have to worry about useless things while you were passed out, but problems might arise anyway. And honey."
"Yes?"
"This ring is a proposal ring, right?"
"..."
"..."
"It's... similar."
Of course, I wanted to say it wasn't, however, I had an ominous feeling that I might just get locked away, so I had to nod with all my might.
I didn't know if she knew what I was thinking, but Cha Hee-ra was constantly looking at the ring attached to her left ring finger with a delighted expression.
I thought that yesterday's incident wasn't the only reason why her steps seemed particularly light today.
"But where are we?"
"I don't know. It looks like a dungeon. There were also a few monsters, although not anymore. Oh, and... when you say you're busy, is it about the Crack Land?"
"Right. I have to take care of that right now. The dungeon itself seems capable of opening without difficulty, but its sub-contents are lacking. I should go and handle the business. I've got a rough plan in my head, but properly executing it is another story."
"Like what?"
"Are there many things to sell besides the dungeon? If we do business in front of it, it'll be a big hit, Hee-ra. If I can name it as the Bulgogi museum or the Baeksuk museum, I can get double, no, triple the original profits. Not to mention dungeon supplies such as battle rations and potions... I can also create special dungeon zones, tourist zones, special economic zones, and other bullshit to increase its value. There is no substitute. It's a jackpot. I'm sure of it."
"Aren't you exploiting it too much?"
"I'll just get paid a fair fee. It'll become the only monster dungeon in a world where dungeons have disappeared. What's wrong with making a profit? Moreover, it would be in a situation where there is only me who can manage the dungeon. Rather, I think I'm being generous. I'm sure I'm being generous."
"I think you're thinking of something big... It will cost some initial investment."
"It's a little difficult to do with the funds stored in Blue alone, but..."
"Take what you need from the Red Mercenaries and use it."
"What? Really?"
"You can think of it as an investment. I had never lost money when I listened to you, and your money is my money, and my money is your money anyway. Don't feel burdened. Take as much as you need. Don't worry about anything else. I'll take care of the workforce, so don't worry. Just tell me if you need anything, honey."
'Whew. The give and take circumstances in here are good. Okay! Let's get married, Hee-ra! Let's go with the marriage!'
Of course, that was just an idea.
However, Cha Hee-ra's comment made it worth thinking about seriously.
'A woman must have the ability.'
I originally felt that she was generous and cool, but she could also be warm and gentle.
From the time we got on the griffon until we arrived at Lindel, Cha Hee-ra's gentleness continued.
However, her happiness circuit was running fiercely, but that lasted only for a moment. As I got closer and closer to Lindel, I was forced to think of other worries.
I remembered the bomb I had just abandoned.
Jung Hayan recently had become a little quiet, but still, Jung Hayan was Jung Hayan. I had to have a look at her. No one could predict when her embers would rise again.
However...
'It should be fine, right?'
She wouldn't have gone openly crazy again. Even so, after continuing repetitive learning, she should be aware that I hated such behavior.
It was natural that the longer the flight time, the more anxious I felt.
It was just as expected.
I began to see someone sitting in the distance. I couldn't even hear Cha Hee-ra's warm voice at this point anymore.
On one side of the landing pad, the person waiting for us with her knees together was, without a doubt, Jung Hayan. I didn't know why, but I felt pity for some reason when I saw her running towards us as if she had seen the griffon from afar.
'Right... you didn't do anything wrong. I'm complete trash. But this time, please let it go quietly.'
When the griffon finally landed at Lindel, Jung Hayan ran to me and hugged me.
"..."
It's somehow cute that she tried to be held in my arms without saying anything.
However, the look she directed at Cha Hee-ra with her face on my chest wasn't cute.
Her gaze looked like she was about to turn into a lunatic. She didn't put up a killing aura as if she remembered the warning, but I still got chills.
"You've heard, right? I forgot to do something, so I went into a dungeon with honey. You should go there too."
I would never enter that place with Jung Hayan. There was a high probability that an article about the Honorary Cardinal's disappearance would appear in the headline after that.
Anyway, Cha Hee-ra hugged me and even patted on Jung Hayan's shoulder. However, she did it with her ringed hand. It was a little gesture, but her hurt pride was restored.
"Then I'll go first, honey."
Of course, the other side's pride had gotten hurt.
She was biting her lips somehow to stop the tears that were accumulating out of pure resentment, but the tears still dropped down.
'What do I do with her?'
What was even more heartbreaking was that the war of nerves that was taking place was gentle. It wasn't even close to a fight. It was hard to imagine what would happen when the mad women surrounding me would begin to fight with all their might.
Even without Jung Hayan and Cha Hee-ra, it would cause unimaginable destruction.
Yuno Kasugano followed me blindly, but Lee Jihye, who declared to be the final winner, was also another kind of monster.
'No. Rather, Lee Jihye is the best.'
She had the most sense of reality. Even though she stayed quiet, it felt like our elf princess was also hiding a heart disease.
"Nothing happened. It's because she really had something to do, Hayan. I'm sorry I couldn't tell you in advance. Shall we go to see a play after work today? I'll come right after finishing my work at the Crack Land. It probably won't take more than a few hours."
"..."
"Stop crying. You understand, right?"
Nod.
"You haven't been out here since yesterday, right? Come in quickly and take a nap, Hayan. You must be tired. I will take you to the room."
She nodded.
"You're a good girl, right?"
"I..."
"..."
"O-Oppa..."
"Yes?"
"W-w-when... When are we getting married? You... you said we were getting married, right?"
She was indeed still the scariest.
"Gasp. You said we were getting married... Sniff."
I slowly realized that the medicine's effect had been decreasing, little by little.